walk

Tonight we took the boys for a walk. They haven't been outside of their pasture since we brought them home, except for the one time they briefly got out - but that's another story. They did great, I on the other hand was nervous...both Koda & Nemo listened well and didn't spook, they did awesome!

basics

We haven't had a chance to work with the boys since last week, between the weather and schedules. I didn't even get to see them yesterday, which bums me out. After tonight it's clear we really need to spend time doing basics with the boys, they had a hard time staying out of our space tonight. They just don't know better. I'm sure some of it has to do with the amount of time we've spent with them recently, and the need to reinforce what we've started - especially with the stubborn one (no, not me). However, they both did good getting brushed & feet picked - whew, after the mud that is one smell I can do without. Hopefully the weather will be nice this weekend and we can spend more time with them!

rainy days

Altho it's a rainy day, any day I get to spend even a little time with the boys is a good one - I don't mind being wet and smelling like a horse. In fact, I love "the horse smell" - I know, I'm weird. We don't have an indoor arena to work our horses, so they'll get to take it easy this stormy weekend. As long as I get to see them, I'm good - got my horse fix.

This past week we've continued working on getting them to mind our space better. We have overfriendly horses, especially Koda. Brad was able to get in a few short sessions of low-key lunging, Nemo handles it well and gets it. Koda is just starting to understand what he is being asked to do...we couldn't have picked two completely opposite personalities. Koda is laid back and could care less about most things and Nemo cares a whole lot about everything.

The best part of this past week was watching our son (who says he doesn't care much for horses) find them creeping into his heart - altho he won't admit it. When he comes with us, that's where you'll find Koda. Koda adores him and he says "Koda's a beast". Incase you're not familiar with that expression, it translates to cool/awesome. I think in the long run he'll end up being his horse, not mine. Time will tell. Our kids better get on the trailer, cuz we're doing this with or without them - we will go on happy trails - and it can't happen soon enough!!

our horses

learning

I'm not only learning about being a horse owner of two young horses, I'm learning about blogging about horses - oye de mi! Both are definitely a work in progress.

We have three horses in our family - Koda, Nemo and Harmony. We see the boys daily, and take care of them ourselves - something I would never venture to do without my horse savvy husband. For now, Harmony is boarded where our daughter can hopefully achieve her goals and rides with her 4H friends - unfortunately I don't get to see Harmony much. I'll try to post pictures soon.

midwest horse fair

Having spent a full three days at Midwest Horse Fair, makes me want to work in the equine industry...not realistic to venture into a new field, given this economy - I know. But I'll keep thinking about a nitch I may be able to fill, that combines my design skills and my love of horses. If you have ideas, I'm all ears.

We enjoyed every minute of Fair, well, except for the tail end of Saturday night - the show was waaay tooo looong. I doubt many would disagree. Our favorite part of Fair was meeting Ruben Villeseñor, and attending his clinic. If you get a chance, listen to what this man has to say - he is practical, has a great sense of humor, is kind and has a true love for horses. His Western Dressage methods are so appealing to me, a perfect combination. I am happy to say he is invited back to Fair next year - see me there!

Another highlight was of course the mustang challenge, which I followed as much as I could again this year. We were only able to watch the finals and most of the adoption - it's always amazing to see what the trainers have accomplished with their mustangs in 90 days. Simply amazing. Something I could never do in my wildest dreams. The adoption always brings tears (not just to the trainers) mostly of joy. Meeting Deb (MJ Legacy's trainer) and her husband Ken (MJ too) after the adoption made our day. I knew from following her blog, they were great people and we would relate. Only horse people welcome strangers to visit, share stories, and even give hugs after an exhausting weekend. I was so happy they were able to take MJ home with them - lucky horse!!